MOVIE REVIEW: 'Hundred-Foot Journey' all about a food fight in France

Helen Mirren is Madame Mallory, the owner of Michelin-starred French restaurant who becomes fuming mad when the Kaddam family opens the Maison Mumbai 100 feet across the street.

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

With blockbusters like “Guardians of the Galaxy, ” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction” it’s been a summer of testosterone-fueled movies. This week’s “The Hundred-Foot Journey” proves the exception. Director Lasse Hallstrom’s (“Chocolat”) culinary culture clash about an immigrant Indian family at odds with a celebrated French restaurateur (Helen Mirren), is a light summer confection. It’s better than the dog-days-of-August slop Hollywood usually serves, but it’s not very nourishing, either.

Set in a postcard-perfect French village, the movie stars Mirren as Madame Mallory, the owner of a famed, Michelin-starred French restaurant. She becomes fuming mad when the Kaddam family opens the Maison Mumbai across the street, a short 100 feet from her palace of taste and class.

What ensues is a predictable bridging of cultures, as the young, hunky Indian chef, Hassan (Manish Dayal) – armed with his late mother’s wisdom, skill and suitcase of special spices – cooks his way up from preparing traditional Indian sea urchin to mastering the five classic French sauces. He goes right into the kitchen and melts the heart of the icy and aloof Madame Mallory.

Hassan’s family serendipitously lands in France after leaving London, a city where stubborn Papa (Om Puri) declares “the vegetables have no soul.” In the land of escargot, they resurrect the family’s Mumbai eatery that burned to the ground during a political uprising.

Old-school Papa and the snobby Madame Mallory, who calls her new neighbors, “you people,” engage in a battle of one-upmanship. She buys all the fish in the market one day, he does the same the next. She complains to the mayor about Papa’s garish facade and loud music, while he has the audacity to stay open on Bastille Day. They might start out as adversaries, but you know where they end up. Meanwhile, Hassan grows close with rival sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). You can likely figure out where they end up, too.

Hallstrom, working from a script by Steven Knight (who wrote and directed this summer’s acclaimed “Locke”) is in no rush for his souffle to rise. From the get-go, things look promising with Hassan seen in flashback being taught to cook by his now deceased mother. She teaches him to “taste the spirits,” and that “life has it’s own flavor.” From there, the story is set on simmer for the remainder of its two-hour runtime, making for some sluggish moments. Even the eggs that drop from their cracked shells do so in slo-mo.

A tasty dish is always the result of the finest ingredients. And Hallstrom has pretty good stock in Puri and Mirren, who are terrific as usual. Puri is the father or grandfather everyone wants. He’s funny and endearing. Mirren does snooty French with ease. Their scenes together are the film’s best. Le Bon and Dayal are delightful enough. They talk a lot about loving food, and they show a lot of succulent dishes, but you never feel that food is love. What’s missing is the pinch of spice it needs to curry favor.

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.